The present invention relates to an automatic machine for the removal of tendons from meat.
Meat, in general, and Turkey-fillet for example, in particular, contains tendons. For obvious reasons, it is desirable to remove these tendons before the meat is marketed. Conventionally, tendons are extracted manually by skilled workers by pulling the tendons with one hand while the meat is held with the other hand. This manual operation, being performed by skilled workers, is quite obviously time-consuming and costly. Attempts are known to provide machinery for extracting tendons from meat. In fact there exists a number of patents in this field. In some of the specifications of earlier patents, there have been described mechanical devices which are manually actuated; some later patent specifications describe machines which do not require manual actuation. Finally there are known fully mechanical devices which however, only superficially constitute something similar to the present solution of the problem. Of all the arrangements which relate to the present invention, only U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,807 of Frank Adkinson & al., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,153 of E. L. McDonald are of interest, as the constructions which comprise, inter alia certain elements which are also present in the construction according to the present invention, but the mechanics as complete constructions are different from ours, as the reference to the abovementioned patents, and to the following description will show.